TRR: General at center of Benghazi-gate controversy retiring
By <
http://www.washingtontimes.com/staff/james-s-robbins/> James S. Robbins
- The Washington Times
13/11/2012
General Carter F. Ham, the Combatant Commander of Africa Command (AFRICOM)
and a key figure in the Benghazi-gate controversy, is leaving the Army. On
October 18, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta had announced that General Ham
would be succeeded at AFRICOM by General David Rodriguez. Later
<
http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/robbins-report/2012/oct/28/general-losi
ng-his-job-over-benghazi/> speculation tied this decision to the fallout
from the September 11, 2012 attack in Benghazi that killed four Americans,
including U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens. However on Monday
October 29 a defense official told The Washington Times that "the decision
[to leave AFRICOM] was made by General Ham. He ably served the nation for
nearly forty years and retires after a distinguished career." Previously all
that was known was that General Ham would be rotating out of AFRICOM at some
future date, but not that he was leaving the service. General Ham is a few
years short of the mandatory retirement age of 64, but it is not unusual for
someone of that rank to retire after serving in such a significant command.
The questions concerning General Ham's role in the September 11 events
continue to percolate. Congressman Jason Chaffetz, Utah Republican, said
that
<
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=e4W1LDSs5X4#%21>
General Ham told him during a visit to Libya that he had never been asked to
provide military support for the Americans under attack in Benghazi. Former
United States Ambassador to the U.N. John R, Bolton
<
http://news.yahoo.com/video/benghazi-failure-could-happen-025127759.html>
also mentioned Mr. Chaffetz's account, and contrasted it with Mr. Panetta's
statement that General Ham had been part of the team that made the decision
not to send in forces. "General Ham has now been characterized in two
obviously conflicting ways," Mr. Bolton concluded. "Somebody ought to find
out what he actually was saying on September the eleventh."
No word yet on when General Ham's rotation or retirement take effect.
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Received on Tue Nov 13 2012 - 13:50:09 EST
